152-Year-Old Steamship Found at Bottom of Lake Huron

Keystone State, a wooden steamship carrying 33 passengers across Lake Huron in 1861, has been located by a team of Michigan explorers.

According to a story on NBCNews.com, the vessel sank during a storm in early November of that year, with no survivors.

It is thought to have been carrying farm equipment to Milwaukee from Detroit, but local lore tells of the ship's carrying gold, said David Trotter, who initially located the wreck – one of more than 5,000 in the Great Lakes – this summer.

Trotter told Reuters the wreck was 175 feet below the surface northeast of Harrisville, near Lansing. That meant the ship's captain was off course by 50 miles. Trotter also said the ship sailed with no lifeboats.

"That adds to the mystery of her leaving," he said. "She literally sailed into oblivion. Nobody heard anything from her."

The 72-year-old Canton resident is an experienced explorer, having located more than 100 wrecks beneath the fresh water.

"It's a great chance to touch history, to swim back into time," Trotter said.